A senior member of the US Army entrusted with top-secret information has been arrested near Gloucester on allegations connected to Russia.
The man, 41, was arrested earlier today and remains in custody in London, the Met Police said.
He was detained under sections one and three of the National Security Act, which relate to leaking classified information and assisting foreign spies respectively.
Police raided two locations in Gloucestershire, working with counter-terrorism police, the FBI and the US Military to make the arrest.
The man was a ‘senior soldier entrusted with sensitive information,’ said Brig Gen Sean Stinchon, the commanding general of US Army Counterintelligence Command.
He added that the arrest ‘is a sobering reminder that insider threats are real and persistent’.
Vicki Evans, Senior National Coordinator for Counter Terrorism Policing, said the arrest was ‘significant’.
‘The allegations are serious and our investigation is very much ongoing,’ she added.
Kash Patel, director of the US’s spy agency, the FBI, said the man is accused of espionage.
‘While this investigation is continuing, I want to send a clear message – this FBI has no tolerance for anyone who breaks their oath to the United States and whose actions endanger our national security and that of our partners,’ he said.
The FBI declined to comment further.
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